The Tale of the Snow Lady
by Trollkastel34
Summary: Seiji Maharishi is new to town. He wasn't fond of moving from his home but is convinced that creating a good outlook will make this change okay. While getting accustomed to his towns' peculiar voyages, he realizes that something or someone is ravaging the village and killing any inhabitants on the 4th day, during the 2nd week, of each month. He needed to stop the curse quickly.
1. Chapter 1

Sudden Change

Seiji Maharishi is one of the most intelligent boys in Okinawa. He lived here for most of his childhood, living with his parents and newborn sister. He was an exceptional thinker, thought to be a genius by his family and friends around him He could think a plan out of any bad situation. Him, His mother Arutia, his father Sento, and his little sister, Kuroyume, all live in their three story home. They lived there for all of three months and Seiji met all of his best friends here. This was the only home he knew and the only home he had wanted to know. Nothing needed to change.

Seiji woke from his slumber feeling dazed. His stomach was fine, but his head was fuzzy and he couldn't help this nauseous feeling he was experiencing. Is bed was large, large enough to fit his entire family comfortably. His room was also rather large, accommodating his excess clothes and furniture. His family was rather wealthy, but Seiji never let his fortune cloud how he was. Seiji lied in the bed with his hand to his head, slowly wiping the beads of sweat from his brow. He thought he would pass out, but didn't want to die in sweaty clothes. He rose from his bed and exited his room. He looked down each side of the hallway and noticed his parents' door open and crouched down beside it to listen.

"Sento, what are we going to do? Seiji has met all of his friends and has lived here his entire life. We can't ask him to assimilate into something new. How are we going to tell him we want to move again?" asked Arutia.

"I don't know honey but we have to. This promotion is worth three times what we make now. We would be able to better support ourselves and our family. I think we need to do this." said Sento.

"We have plenty of money as is. Why do you want more?"

A creak in the door alarmed Seiji's parents when they saw him dash off to the stairs. His mother called out to him but all he did was slip on his shoes and dash out the door. Arutia turned to her husband and have him an exasperated sigh and stalked towards the stairs. She stared at the door for a moment, but then finally decided to bow her head and walk down the stairs. Sento also was upset.

Seiji runs to his friend Aki's house to tell him of the horrible news. He and Aki talked for hours on ways to stay here but as the daylight grew thin, Seiji realized his antics would be useless. How could they possibly persuade his domineering father to allow this? He's probably already upset that he was eavesdropping. Adding defiance to that list seemed like a death wish. He called the rest of his friends over and they all talked of his move.

"Has your parents set a date?" said Aki.

"I don't think so. Although, knowing my father, he probably has one by now." said Seiji.

All of his friends gathered around for one last hug before Seiji went home to face the music. The walk home was dreary. It was late fall and the trees' leaves were all stained orange and red. They fell gracefully, surrounding him in a leafy whirlwind. He stopped for a moment, blankly staring ahead of him. The wind calmed. _Why am I so upset?_ He thought. _This is crazy. Why are we moving? Why do I even care? I wish that I didn't have to go home. I'd rather go anywhere but here. _Seiji stalked onwards to his home. He contemplated arguing with them but it would be futile. What would be the use, an unnecessary argument that would cause more bad than good? He didn't know what to do or say, just that he wasn't happy. He realized he was walking quite fast when he ran into a woman walking buy. He started to apologize but shut his mouth, feeling the tears well up into his eyes. A lump formed in his throat as he forced back the tears, the women looked at him expectantly, but he continued to walk.

When Seiji got home, his parents gently ushered him into the living room to talk. They looked at him for a moment, his father's expression impassive. His father stared at him blankly, allowing no expression to surface from his ice-cold mask. Bile rose in Seiji's throat as he fought the urge to cry. He gives his parents an expectant look, silently asking to stay. His mother opened her mouth and closed it again, ashamed of what to say to her son. He walked himself up to his room, not taking a second look at his parents. His mother followed him.

"Honey," started Arutia. "We have to go. It'll be good for us." She walks into his room and notices him packing his clothes. She walks over to help him. "I promise that this can be good for you. Maybe after you've settled, you can see some of your friends...on the weekends. How does that sound?"

"Not good. I still have to be away from my friends." says Seiji. He shrugs. "Maybe I can try."

"That's the spirit!" Arutia's face lights up with glee. "This can be really great if you give it a chance. Your friends should and _will _be happy for you." She folds a t-shirt. "Finish the rest of theses. The movers will be here in a few days." She left him. He looks after his mother as she walks down the stairs. His mother always knew what to say to make him feel better. _Even though the decision she's making could potentially ruin my life._ Thought Seiji. He knew he was overreacting just a little bit. He finished up for the day and went to shower. _This is going to be the longest few months of my life. _He thought.

The moving day arrived and Seiji and his mother just finished packing up the last box in the kitchen. The movers filed in and began to move furniture as his father walked in the door saying he's got the moving van and is ready to head north. They were headed to live in the northern city, Yukinomai. It was very cold up there, but people had very good luck when ice-picking in the caves. That's why his father is going. Seiji plans to be anti-social, and neglect his schoolwork. If he did that, his parents would have to move him back so he could focus. Although, if he plummeted, he would have no chance of getting into the college he wants. Plus, this school has reputation for high grades, or painful punishment. Maybe this plan wasn't well thought out. He still wanted to have friends, even,,,_new_ friends. Maybe he wouldn't want to be some stupid juvenile delinquent. He didn't want to tarnish his or his family's name. It was worth a shot.


	2. Get Accustomed

Get Accustomed

Seiji and his family had arrived in Yukinomai in a few days. Although, the trip there was all but smooth. Seiji's little sister cried most of the way there. On the one opportunity for silence, they had to take a bathroom break and Kuroyume was woken by the slam of the car door. They were entrapped in vocal wails the entire ride. Unfortunately, their arrival was further delayed because one of the moving trucks broke down, twice. By the second time, they had to call another company to reload their belongings onto the other truck and finish the travel to Yukinomai. The entire family was relieved to have made it. The bumpy start to a new life here made Seiji even more spiteful towards the idea of this move. The only thing that kept him from losing his 'cool' was his mother's reassuring words. 'It'll be okay.' 'Sometimes we reach a fork in the road.' He and his family arrived at their lavish new home and began to unpack their things into their home. Surprisingly, the house in this northern-bound city was not bad. It was pretty spacious and had four bedrooms. His mother was really obsessed with the kitchen. Avaron loved to cook big things and small things, from Hamburgers to Filet Mignon. Cooking was a hobby of hers whenever she could get away from Kuroyume for a moment. Seiji also had his own hobbies, but they were all summer sports. It's basically winter year-round around this area. This made him even more resentful towards his father for making this decision. He wasn't sure he could even face him anymore. Aside from his bitter feelings towards his father, Seiji decided to get a positive look on everything. He would make good friends, have fun every day, get good grades, and stay as long as possible.

Most of Seiji's boxes were placed in his room but the ones that they stored on their car, they had to carry themselves. Seijij took his box; It was rather heavy for after he took only a few steps up the stairs, he had to set it down. He sat on the box for a moment to catch his breath. _These boxes are crazy. Though it's my own fault for having so many things._ He said to himself. He turned and saw something outside of the window. It was a girl, with long dark hair. She was strikingly beautiful. She wore a kimono with light blue splashes on the sleeves and a red obi. She had red lips and purple eye-shadow that clashed with her pale white skin. She was truly ghostly. He blinked, not believing what he had seen, and then when he looked again she was gone. _What the hell?_ He was so frightened by what he saw that he ran straight up the steps, forgetting his box, found the room that was his, and slammed the door. He began to hyperventilate while thinking about what he saw. He spent the all of a half hour catching his breath and processing what he had seen. _Who is she? Why was she standing there? Was she even standing? I didn't see any footprints behind her. _His mother called for him. He didn't answer.

"Seiji..." says Avaron. "You left your box on the stairs. I brought it the rest of the way up, but I couldn't bear to bring it the rest of the way. It's in the hallway. Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." he replies, his voice a whisper. "Yeah, no, I'm good."

"O-Okay..." She looks at him quizzically. "I'll be down stairs if you need anything. Finish unpacking tonight, okay?"

Seiji was too tired to unpack. He reluctantly picked up his box from the hallway and brought it to his room. Even though it was only 6:00 PM, he was bone-tired and stressed and knew that sleep was the only antidote for his terrible day.

The next day, Seiji went off to his new school, Hiroshima High School. He was a freshman and knew that today would most likely be the worst day of his life. The walls were filled with posters and pictures of their Class president. Apparently, the 9th grade class president was also the principal's daughter. _She didn't look half bad._ The part of Seiji's brain that wanted a girlfriend was surfacing. He stared at the picture.

"Hello, Newbie! Welcome to Hiroshima High!" says a girl. "I'm the girl in that picture you were staring at."

"Hello…" says Seiji

"I'm Fumi Hiroshima! My Daddy made this school and is the principal. I also have a best friend named Kumiko Fuo. Although, she sometimes goes around pretending she's me. It's odd how similar we look even though were not related, although she has much longer hair and thicker eyebrows."

"Oh…I see…Kumiko! You basically described yourself and the difference between you and the girl in the picture. Juvenile Mistake..."

"Good Job...I guess your worthy. Psyche!"

"Hey hey! Party! It's Kumiko here!" says Kumiko

"Oh…I see. You really did get me." says Seiji

"Yep! Don't expect to get over on us! I described what I have and she doesn't. Good try though! ~" said Fumi

"Hey what's up with all the commotion." said a random person.

"Oh, hey Kazu. How are you?" said Fumi

"Nothing much. Hey, who's the new guy?"

"Erm…I'm Seiji. I just moved here." said Seiji

"Oh...a newbie..."

"Ha! That's what I called him! Seiji, this is Kazu. He's a Junior."

Seiji seemed to accidentally make friends. His mother was right. If you have a good attitude, you'll probably attract good people. The situation isn't completely unfixable. Seiji began to walk home. He was happy that he finally made some friends and was happier that his mother was right. He walked carefully through the ground that was lightly covered in snow. This was a change from his normal environment. He had to purchase more long clothes to conform to his eternally cold atmosphere. This wasn't anything he couldn't handle though. He continued to walk home, making him quite tired. His mother offered to pick him up, but he was afraid his newfound friends would find him uncool. Soon enough he would regret that. When he arrived back at his house, he slipped on a thin sheet of ice that was in front of his doorstep. His mother opened the door, holding Kuroyume. His baby sister began to laugh, and so did his mother. Seiji joined them in their laughter. It had been a long time since he had last laughed, and he had finally got accustomed to his new home.


	3. The New Tradition

The New Tradition

Seiji woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and much newer. The last week for Seiji had been so stressful that waking up almost worry-free is his heaven. This move was getting easier and easier to deal with. He got up quickly and got dressed. He had planned to walk to school with his new friends.

"Seiji!" calls Avalon. "Come get breakfast!" Seiji rushed down the stairs and scarfs down an English muffin.

"Thanks, Mom! Gotta go!" he calls.

"Wait!" He left. "Have a good day at school..." she sighs.

Kazu and Fumi meet Seiji at the crossroads.

"Where's Kumiko? Isn't she walking with us?" asks Seiji. Kazu laughs.

"She's always late!" says Fumi.

"Yeah..." laughs Kazu."Then she'll _mysteriously _show up behind us as if she was there the entire time! Ow!" Fumi punches him.

"Why'd you go and tell him that? Now we can't scare the newbie!"

"I'm sure I would've noticed..." claims Seiji. The over analytical part of Seiji is surfacing. "Surely you guys would've heard something, me included. C'mon! It'd be impossible for anyone not to have noticed her!"

"Hi!" says Kumiko.

"Whoa!" Kazu and Fumi grin from ear to ear, chuckling like hyenas. Seiji has caught on to what Fumi and Kazu do for the new kids. "Do you do this to every new kid!"

"_Newbie_!" corrects Fumi.

Now that Seiji has found his group of friends, they continued to off to school. They talked for a while and really took their time going to school. Subconsciously, Seiji was concerned that they wouldn't arrive to school on time. They stopped and They looked at each other aside from Seiji.

"What's wrong?" says Seiji. "Why'd you guys stop? We really need to make it to school.

"We'll be fine..." says Kumiko. "But...there is something we need to say."

"_What_?" He's slightly exasperated.

"Well, do you know the legend of the Yuki-onna?" said Fumi.

"What's that?"

"Well, a long time ago, a women died in a snowstorm after being separated from her lover. She vowed to kill anyone in the village of Yukinomai who didn't leave every 4th day, of the 2nd week, of each month."

"Huh…hey. That reminds me...; I actually saw something weird yesterday."

"What did you see?" said Kazu.

"Well…" said Seiji.

Seiji talked to his friends about his horrible experience and they all seem to think that it's the work of the Yuki-onna. They told Seiji as much lore as they could. Seiji didn't think much of what they said because he believed this was their sorry attempt at 'frightening the newbie' once again. The Yuki-onna was the last thing on his mind during school. Oddly, what he saw out of his window did startle him continuously. He eventually learned to forget it until that afternoon. He was told that today would be the day they evacuate the village. His friends ushered him to the ceremonial ground where the head of the village would be making his periodic speech. The hours rolled by when it came time for the ceremony. He still hadn't gotten an opportunity to leave his school belongings at home.

Seiji's friends told him of how they evacuate the village every month, but they forgot to tell him to get his family. As Mr. Hiroshima, the head of the village, explained the plans for the walk out of the village, Seiji heard a sudden voice whisper to him. He couldn't shake this overwhelming feeling of fear and dread. Peculiarly, his sister was the only thing on his mind. He shrugged it off until some girl bumped into him.

"Hey! Watch where your standing, punk!" said the girl.

"Don't Worry. That's Sono Kazumi." Interrupted Fumi. "She's and ice queen. She's rude to everyone and thinks she's better than us just because her family is rich." Fumi snorts. She obviously had a visual distaste for her.

"Her blond hair and bleached eyebrows clashed with her ice blue eyes." says Kumiko. "Everything about her reads, 'Icy'."

"Why is she so bitter?" said Seiji

"Well, Sono wasn't always like that. When we were in elementary school, she was always cheerful. In middle school, she was kind and reserved. Now, she's pure evil."

"Wait. C'mon now Fumi. Remember, none of this started until 4 years ago. Right around the time her family adopted Sono's little sister, Yuki." said Kumiko

"Wait….isn't that around the time the curse of the Yuki-onna started?" said Seiji.

"That's weird. Our parents led us to believe that it always occurred." says Kazu.

"That's a discrepancy." says Kumiko. "What reason would they have to lie?"

"I can't even remember back past 4 years ago..." says Kazu. "It's kind of frightening. My parents, before they died, told me that I was born here."

"Hmm….I think you're on to something. Everyone. Be on watch…, I think something fishy may go on this week." said Fumi "Usan..."


	4. Innocence

Innocence

Seiji and his friends walked with the village out of town for a few hours. It was cold and dark. Every few groups of people had to hold candles and lanterns to illuminate the path forward. Children cried out at the fierce bites that the bone-chilling cold let loose. Seiji was so tired of walking, but everyone insisted that they went on. Amazingly, even in the severe cold, Seiji broke out in small sweats. He was the very last person to get up the hill. _How on earth can these people do this without tire? Surely their muscles are tired._ They seem to be robotic in their movement. Some of the townspeople's eyes were dilated at the beginning of the exodus. Since everyone did this every 4 days, they probably got used to it. The over analytical Seiji took over what Seiji was to be focused on. Seiji stopped for a moment to catch his breath until he noticed that he couldn't see anyone anymore. Everyone had gone ahead and he was left alone to fend for himself. He continued to walk up the slope in hopes that someone realized his absence when he stopped abruptly. _What's that?_ Now he is exhibiting extrasensory. _Is someone following me? _He turned around and saw no one. The forest was dead silent. He heard nothing other than his muffled breathing. He thought that he heard something from behind himself. Was someone was following him the entire time? He was hearing breathing, but he assumed it was his own muffled breathing. Seiji turned around to see two sets of footsteps._ What the hell!_ He was completely enveloped in his fear. As he stared at the footsteps, his own paranoia froze him so much that he couldn't even turn his head. His spine was a frozen pole that wouldn't move. He mustered up the courage to turn around once more to see if anyone had passed him. The footsteps stopped at his. _Wha? _He couldn't finish his thoughts. Something eerie was going on. Whoever was following him can't be human. No human could disappear like that. Seiji took a step back when he heard a voice say "oww". When Seiji turned his head, he noticed a girl, not much shorter than him, staring back at him. She had beautiful jet-black hair.

"You stepped on my foot." said the girl.

"Oh…sorry! Umm…where did you come from." said Seiji

"What do you mean? I've been next to you the entire time! Are you feeling alright?" said the girl

"Uhh…who are you?" said Seiji

"Oh…I'm Yuki Kazumi! My sister is Sono." said Yuki

Seiji and Yuki walked up further, only to realize the group was only a few yards ahead. Seiji was still shaken up by the whole incident. How could anyone be that quiet? And when he stopped and turned around a few times, how could he not see her? Something was weird about Yuki's sudden appearance. It's just to hazy to believe, and how come she wasn't at the head of the group like the rest of her family. Maybe she wasn't here the entire time. Whatever happened, Yuki Kazumi is definitely involved. The village continued onwards towards the slopes.

"Are you sure you were there? I mean, I never noticed you." says Seiji.

"At first I wasn't." Yuki explains. "I was originally ahead of you. I noticed that you were falling behind, so I went back and watched over you as you blindly wandered in the snow under your jacket."

"You'd think that I would've noticed you turn around..." He said that partially under his breath. Because Yuki was Sono's sister, he had developed an automatic dislike to her. He didn't trust her immediately, but he knows not to judge a book by its cover.

"Your eyes were partially tucked under the collar of your jacket." She paused for a moment. "They seemed dilated from where I had stopped to look at you. Maybe the severe cold had stunned you?" It sounded like a question but it wasn't meant for an answer. _So the cold was affecting the people._ The pompous side to Seiji had aloud him to numb the cold for a moment, relishing the fact that he had been right.

"How do you do this so often?" Again, he said this partially under his breath. In actuality, it wasn't under his breath at all. He wanted an answer as it was meant for one. His mouth was underneath his jacket collar so it sounded that way. Luckily, Yuki wanted to answer it.

"We want to protect our families." Her eyes are gleaming down at her feet. "We have built up a tolerance for the cold. That is why we can get through this faster than newcomers can."

"Hmm...How far do we have to walk?"

"How far away are we from the village?" She asks. Her expression is amused.

"About 3 miles."

"About 3 miles."

"What does that mean?" Yuki waves her hand in the air as the villagers and his new friends pass by him in the opposite direction.

"Now we go back."

The people returned to the village after a seemingly peaceful evacuation. Seiji headed home to find his mother crying on the floor, next to his father's severed body. The head was. The head was missing. He looked through the house for his littler sister, but she was missing. There was a trail of blood that led to the backdoor but it ended at the threshold. He checked the roof, but there was no blood there. Not the slightest footprint in the snow. Seiji noticed Yuki shoving something red in her shed he questioned her. She just said it was trash and locked the shed door. She smiled at Seiji and skipped away in the snow. Seiji knew something was up because Yuki's footprint didn't start until after he talked to her. So, how did she get to the shed?

Villagers arrived at Seiji's house. They helped to clean the blood in his house and remove his father's dead body. Avalon was crying on the sofa next to Seiji. Peculiarly, Seiji didn't shed one tear. The villagers looked at them with sympathy. They thought that Seiji, being a rich kid, didn't care for his father at all. Maybe he would inherit whatever empire his father had financially built for him. They hoped that the daughter was found. They would be heartbroken to see that Avalon lost her husband and daughter. Some of the men wanted to comfort her on grounds that she was extremely beautiful. Avalon left the living room and scaled the steps quickly.

She went into her closet and searched for a moment. Seiji followed his inquisitive side surfacing. _What is she looking for? We just moved so it's possible that she lost something..._ He answered his own inner questions. She rummaged through the bottom of the closet, swiftly and frantically looking for something. She picked up a shoe box that was near a few coats.

"Mom, what's that?" said Seiji. She opens the box.

"It's an envelope. Your father said that if anything happened to him or his job, to open it and use its contents to support us." said Avalon

"So, what's inside?"

"It's a check…for $20 million. The check must be cashed at Okinawa State Bank. I'll go today and get it cashed. I'll have to be back in a few days."

"That's a lot of money!" exclaims Seiji. "Where did he store all of that?"

"It's 'rainy day' money." Avalon sighs. "We'll be okay. Eventually I'll have to find a job that I can run here. Before, I wasn't bound by the year-round ice."

"You could always start a restaurant. Of course, you'll have to import all of the food ingredients, but that's what everyone does around here."

"Hm!" Avalon giggles. "Maybe, honey! Of course, I have to go..."

"Let me come with you. I can help you be safe there."

"No, I need you to be in school. Plus, if Kuroyume comes up, someone must take her. Stay with Kazu for the time being. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Kay…"

Avalon had packed a few things and headed on the road to Okinawa. Kazu had come to Seiji's house to help him pack. His other friends came to help as well. They all continuously tried to comfort him but it seemed to only make him more frustrated. They noticed a bit of anger in his face and decided not to push him. That worked to no avail because Kumiko just doesn't watch what comes out of her mouth.

"Seiji? Is that a tear?" said Kumiko

"Huh? What? N-no, that's nothing. I'm not soft! Just, help me pack up the boxes." said Seiji

After they're all packed up, they went to Kazu's house for a party. Kazu live alone; He is more of a private person. His parents died 6 years ago. Like Avalon, his mother was considered to be very beautiful. It was a rather large house, not quite as grand as Seiji's but larger than most houses in the village. As well, Fumi was quite wealthy too. Kumiko would be considered middle to upper-class. Not quite as wealthy as her friends, but much wealthier than the average people in her village other than the Kazumi's, Hiroshima's, Nakasaka's, and the now, Maharishi's.

Kazu had maids that took care of him and his friends during their party. They played games, danced, and talked all night long, working the maids harder than usual. People didn't generally come to Kazu's house therefore, the work was quite easily. This was the perfect distraction for Seiji, for he defeated everyone at blackjack. He knew how to count cards. They were happy because the following day was Sunday and they didn't have school. It got late when Kumiko realized she needed to be home. Fumi decided to walk her home because she lived unreasonably far from Kazu's house and Seiji and Kazu watched them leave. They closed the door and Kazu went upstairs to use the bathroom. Seiji began to creep up the stairs and sneak into Kazu's room. He looked around and searched for anything weird. His room looked like any teenage guys room, except he had wrestlers on his walls. That wasn't out of the ordinary. _There has got to be some dirt on him._ He was secretly ashamed that he was snooping on his new friend. He spies his laptop that was partially open. _Yes!_ He notices something under his history that said, 'Male Model.' _Maybe he wanted to be a male model_. Seiji thought from a friendly viewpoint, _He's kinda good looking. He could actually do it...if he wanted to..._ Seiji heard a knock at the door and closed his laptop out of dear. Kazu yelled 'answer it', so Seiji walked to the door. As he slowly approached the peep-hole it suddenly got cold. A voice rang out saying, "Truth or Dare?" He had never been colder than how he felt now. Kazu entered his rrom, feeling odd. He thought that he left his laptop open. He opened it and noticed his history was open. _Did Seiji look at this? No! He was downstairs. Maybe Kumiko and Fumi looked while I wasn't paying attention. That would explain why Kumko left early and Fumi walked home. Maybe they wanted to talk about it. _Kazu thought to himself.


	5. The Ballad of Puppets

The Ballad of Puppets

The weekend is over and the tradition is slowly approaching. It has been 2 days since the incident with Seiji's father and little sister. Luckily, he still had approximately a month to mentally and physically prepare himself for the voyage. His friends were reluctant to let him go to school considering the severity and swiftness of the curse. Besides Seiji's seemingly unhindered psyche, if anyone died during the curse, the village usually closed schools and offices. Why not for Seiji's family?

He had only just realized that his mother had not called yesterday. He thought. _Should I call her? Would she be asleep right now? Where is she staying? Maybe she got the money and stayed at a hotel for the night. Why didn't she call!_ Seiji chose not to think about that. He didn't want to cloud his thoughts with ill omens and worry. He walked to school with his friends. Though his mother still hung from a far balcony in the back of his subconscious, the walk with his friends he thoroughly enjoyed, talking with them until someone showed up.

"Hey Punk. So, I heard that your father and sister died huh?" said Sono

"Erm…my father died, my sister is missing. And please call me Seiji." said Seiji

"Oh, whatever. Hey, don't think just because your dad died that you'll get sympathy from me. I know something's up with you. The curse had never killed anyone until you arrived. You're causing this, I know it! All I need is solid proof and authorities will put you away." said Sono

"Whatever…" said Seiji

Sono stalked along with a pout on her face while Seiji's friends questioned him on what that scuffle was about. Seiji shrugged it off and began to talk to them about Yuki.

"Hey guys, remember when I told you how Yuki caught me in the woods?" said Seiji

"Yeah. That was pretty weird actually." said Fumi

"Well, I saw her stuffing something in her shed, something big…" said Seiji

"Like…a body?" said Kumiko.

"You guys always jump to conclusions." Kazu added. Seiji ignored that last statement.

"Possibly. And remember Kazu? After Kumiko and Fumi left, a knock came at the door. When I looked through the peep-hole, a girl with waist-length black hair was running away. Kind of like Yuki's hair." said Seiji

"That's right…" said Kazu. He still didn't want to jump into their figurative 'Looney bin.' "Still, there is no proof that that was her. I mean, a lot of girls have waste-length black hair." Seiji ignored that last statement again. Kazu was annoyed by that.

"Why are you defending her?" Fumi asked. Kazu, Kumiko, and Seiji ignored what Fumi said. Seiji was too deep in thought and Kumiko was generally uninterested.

"I want you guys to come with me and check out her shed. I think she's hiding either my dad's body, or something else substantial to what's going on here." said Seiji

"Sure, of course we'd come." said Fumi

"'We'? What is this we? I don't want to go." said Kumiko. In fact she _was_ listening.

"You're going. We need to figure out what's going on, and you are a great lock picker." said Fumi.

Seiji and his friends devised a time and place to meet for the break-in. They met at Kazu's house to remind everyone on how this was going to work. Their movements had to be swift and nimble. If they made too much noise, they may get caught.

"Okay everyone. Here's the plan. Kazu and I will throw rocks at the east window and parlor side. Once their attention is distracted, Fumi and Kumiko will head to the back gate. Kazu will meet you around to help give you a hand in lifting up Kumiko. When she's over the fence, Kumiko pops open the gate door and lets you all in. Then she unlocks the padlock, by which time I should've kept the family busy, and you'll help carry the bag out. We'll meet at my house for the reveal. No-one will think to check a supposedly empty home. Everyone got it?" said Seiji

"Yep!" said Fumi

"Roger that." said Kazu

"I'm not that big!" said Kumiko. She knew that was neither here nor there but she thought that she'd bring some comedic relief to the weight that was effortlessly placed on their shoulders by themselves, to no avail.

They kept Kazu's light on to make them think that they're home. Everyone exited Kazu's house to initiate the plan. Seiji said go, and everyone began to move. Seiji and Kazu started to throw the rocks while Fumi and Kumiko had just made it to the gate. After making sufficient noise, Kazu helped Kumiko over the gate, and she unlocked it. Kazu was a little curious about how she became such a good lock-picker. He pushed those thoughts aside. Seiji started to run to the gate when he tripped on a wire. Alarms began to blare when Kazu started to rush Kumiko to open the padlock. Seiji rushed to them and they all ushered the bag out of there. They took a shortcut through the woods to head to Seiji's house when they noticed flashlights. Someone is after them. They tried to run faster when they noticed Kumiko lost her footing. She tripped and everyone dropped the bag. They watched limbs fall from the bag when they had realized it was arms and legs that belonged to marionettes. . Was it possible that they grabbed the wrong bag? It was too late to find out because by the time they got up to continue running, every flashlight was pointed at them and a man walked up and said, "So it was you".

After all this hard work, Seiji's plan came crumbling down before him. He heard a laugh similar to Sono's when he realized this was planned. Sono wanted to get them in trouble so they could no longer suspect her little sister. If they had said anything, the elders would think they were lying. It was perfect. Seiji now knows that he's dealing with someone just as witty as him. Whatever was going on, Sono was protecting it. And Seiji and his friends were just actors in Sono's show. Sono's twisted littler puppet show. Fumi thought. _Why would Sono protect Yuki? She hates her!_ Something is up with this girl. Sono could be hateful and spiteful towards Yuki, and then protective in an instant. How mercurial can she be? The following days would be unbearable for Seiji. How on earth would he be accepted and openly assimilated into village life now? Everyone thought he was a pitiful rich kid that probably killed off his parents to gain wealth. His world only gets harder and harder.


	6. White Forest

White Forest

Now that Seiji and his friends are aware of Sono's role in the charade, they know that they need to think harder and faster to get the truth out of this place. They needed to find out information that could be relied on as well as people that can be relied on. Because the fact that they were now publicly humiliated, it will take more than just a plea to convince the villagers. If they found substantial evidence they may or may not be immediately taken seriously.

"Great, now we're the laughing-stock of the village!" said Fumi

"Don't worry, we'll get through it. From now on, when we make a plan, we need to think of 3 ways it can be foiled and how to prevent that." said Seiji

"Yeah…" said Fumi.

"Sounds like a lot of work..." Kumiko replied, even though she wasn't being spoken to directly.

"Don't worry," He paused. "I wonder why I haven't heard from my mother in a while." said Seiji

"Why don't you call her? Maybe she was so dumbstruck by the amount of cash to be found that, she forgot." Kumiko always wondered what $20 million would look like in cash. _How much room would I need? _She thought. _Could I fill my bathtub with it?_ Kumiko had a large bathroom and a bathtub that was as large as an outdoor hot tub.

Seiji called his mother for 15 minutes trying to get a hold of her. Sadly, she never picked up. The static ring of the phone fueled Seiji's anxiety. He began to get worried. He was actually beginning to think something bad had happened. He talked to his friends and they decided that on the 4th day when the curse supposedly occurs, they would take a bus ride down to Okinawa. Seiji knew that he'd been going to find his mother. He would stop at nothing.

They took a day off, wanting and needing rest. The time slipped past them, faster than one one-hundredth of a second, faster than the blink of an eye. They spent most of the month preparing for their departure. They couldn't let anyone know they were leaving. They were already deemed untrustworthy troublemakers. Mysteriously leaving the village on the day that deaths would surely occur would only place Sono Kazumi on a hot trail to their real intentions.

Seiji and his friends began to pack food for the trip. They first had to walk to the neighboring village of Tonka to get to the bus. Because everyone would be evacuating for the curse, the bus drivers probably wanted to be with their families. Kumiko wasn't immediately excited about walking, but she didn't mind going on a little adventure in return for the burning of a few calories. She decided to use this as exercise. The walk had been pretty crisp. It was cold outside and the wind was swift enough to slice your cheek. The group had really needed to layer their clothing. Seiji seemed unaffected, his only concern being his mother.

They had been walking for what seemed hours. The girls grunted from dissatisfaction periodically. They had finally gotten so tired that they decided to take a break.

"Wait…, Tonka is only an hour's walk from Yukinomai. Why on earth haven't we arrived yet?!" said Fumi

"That's right! We definitely should've made it. Maybe I read the map wrong…" said Kumiko

"No, we checked if we were heading into the right direction before we left."

"How could we be lost!? This was supposed to be a direct passage!?" said Seiji

"Don't worry, we'll just go back the way we came by following out footprints. When we get home, we'll start again." said Fumi

"What Footprints!" Seiji is exasperated. "It keeps snowing! it jeeps covering our tracks!" He seemed as if they were on the verge of angered tears.

They continued to walk; Kazu looked at his surroundings as they went, taking in the landscape that seemed to be a rural replica of the road that leads to Yukinomai. The snow was piled on the ground in heaps. The trees lingered in the mist, sheltering the lime green leaves that peculiarly didn't die. The shimmered whenever one of their flashlights hit them. That was often considering Fumi swore that she was hearing something in the trees. It was only an owl, but it had scared her before she discovered it's whereabouts. It seemed to be perched on this single barren branch, free of snow. Underneath the branch was a hole that the birds would stay in. Fumi stopped and stared. _It's like it's guarding the hole. _She thought. _From what? Me? No, its eyes seem to be distant; looking onto a plane invisible to me and my friends. _

Kazu was also looking at the tree. He seemed bewildered and fed up at the same time. He looked as if he waited 3 hours for his computer to download new software and as the download is finalizing, it shuts off due to low power. "Guys…" said Kazu. Everyone stops. "I've been marking this tree every time we pass it, and we've been going in circles."

The kids continuously wandered in the deep white forest hoping for return. They couldn't believe what had happened. They left in one direction and walked backwards in that direction. How could they have not reached their starting point? At this point they were ready to give up.

"I quit! I am so done with this curse thing. We are lost in this forest with no hope of escape. What are we gonna do? What haven't we done? We tried retracing going backwards, retracing our footsteps-" said Kumiko

"That's it!" interrupted Seiji. "That's what we need to do! Maybe, we drifted off course because we were too tired to pay attention to where we walked. If we choose a new direction and do not follow our footprints, we should either reach home or Tonka!"

"That sounds reasonable …" says Fumi "Although, shouldn't we have noticed if we were drifting to the left or right? Plus, it's pretty unlikely that we'd pick a completely different direction, and find Tonka. Isn't that just a little crazy?"

"Well, we tried everything. Remember, Kazu was leading us. Every inch he took to the right, we took to the right. Every inch he took to the left, we took to the left. If we weren't paying attention to Kazu's drift, we'd have drifted right along to Tonka." said Seiji

"So the theory is that we were exhausted, and we drifted off course?" says Kumiko. "Ughh, you all make me crazy!"

"Let's just go with it!" says an annoyed Kazu. "We might as well look around.

"Okay, so where exactly do we go? We can't possibly predict exactly how far we'd drift." said Fumi.

"Hey! There's some kind of tunnel there!" exclaims Kumiko.

"Yeah! Let's go!" said Seiji

The kids began to head into that direction. They reached the tunnel that Kumiko spotted. It seemed strangely.._.lit. _The ceiling dripped water from the slow melting icicles. Fumi squealed as on crashed in front of her. They continued to walk as they reached the end of the tunnel. They had finally arrived atthe village of Tonka to notice a bus pulling off. They ran after it but it had been too late, they missed it. Fumi noticed an elderly man walking by and asked him when the next bus to Okinawa would arrive. He said that in a few hours, another bus will arrive that stops at Tatsuhiro town, which is only a few miles from Okinawa. They decided to wait. At least they weren't endlessly stuck in some circle with a creepy owl that looked as if it could see _through _them.


	7. Over and Out

Over and Out

They got on the bus and rode all the way down to Tatsuhiro. Okinawa was only a short while away so Seiji wondered why they couldn't stop there. They got off the bus and began to walk down the road to Okinawa when they notice police lights. As they make it down the hill, an officer informs them that a car crashed into the side of the slope and caused a mudslide. Seiji asked if they knew who the driver was. The officer said it was a woman named Avalon Maharishi. He said when they got her body out they found her license and a key. The paramedics noticed a very calm expression on her face. As Seiji began to cry, his friends showed affection while Kazu explained the relationship. The police officer escorted them to a nearby hotel. They were pretty relaxed in the dining room until they hear a scream. A large man with a beard comes out with blood on his body and a woman in his arms. He accidentally runs into Seiji, getting blood all over him. The man explains how he found her but it seemed too weird. As Seiji complained over the amount of blood, a woman with Crimson red hair waltzes in with a smirk, declaring that she will solve this crime. The girl had long hair that she used a very fancy rose bow to tie up. She had a short dress with different shades of blue-green and opals. She also wore skin-toned stockings that awarded her with flawless skin.

"Hello, I'm Lorelei Peters. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." said Lorelei.

The crowd of people stared at her in the amazement that she can be smiling right now. Who would have thought that a girl, no older than 12, finds an amusement in crime scene investigation. A few people helped the man get the body out of the dining room as Lorelei began to question everyone. Seiji waits unnervingly until she taps him on the shoulder to break the silence.

"Er-Erm! It's your turn! Tell me, where you the past 8 hours?" says Lorelei.

"Uhh…I was in Tonka, trying to get here." said Seiji.

"Prove it. You have no proof that says you weren't here killing this girl with your little friends."

"What! That's absurd!"

"Oh is it? Neither you or your friends could give me a solid alibi. You and your little "posse" are at the top of my suspect list."

Erika finished "interrogating" everyone and speaking to the doctor when she made an announcement.

"Everyone, I have reached a conclusion!" said Lorelei.

Tension rose in the room as everyone shifted their bodies for the worst. Lorelei stood up on the table and rose to her feet with the most astounding paramount. She slowly glanced and smirked over every single face in the room. When she looked at the officers, who were ready to take anyone away, they shuddered. Seiji was especially scared because of the way she interrogated them. She even said herself that they were on top of her list. Was it possible that she could change her mind? Seiji tensed up as his friends gathered around him and joined in hands. The tension was so powerful that everyone was at the mercy of Lorelei's truth. She slowly raised her right hand and formed a point. Her face slowly turned toward Seiji's eyes and she whispered, "Checkmate."

Seiji becomes frozen in place when he sees Lorelei whisper, "Checkmate". He squeezes his friends' hands tighter because he knows the obvious truth. He knows that Lorelei wields their fate over their heads like a cat reaching for a toy. She tantalizingly waits and stares, watching the morose emotions befall their faces. Seiji and his friends are being silently tortured with Lorelei's outstanding evidence. As Seiji watched Lorelei chuckle and giggle under her breath, he sees that she is beginning to remind him of Sono, the evil witch he thought he escaped by coming here. "Could Sono have put this girl up to this?" Seiji thought. No way, she can't possibly be that devious. All of his thoughts were broken when Erika pointed in their direction. Every head turned and looked when she began to speak.

"Seiji Maharishi, Fumi Hiroshima, Kumiko Fuo, and Kazu Nakasaka, you are under arrest for the charge of killing that woman." said Lorelei.

The officers slowly walked toward them and began to handcuff them in order of seat. As the officer asked the names of each of them, Seiji got a thought. Name. Name. How could she have known our names without asking us.

"Wait! We are innocent!" screams Seiji

"Wha-? Don't listen to that fool, take him away!" said Lorelei.

"What is my name!? You read out 4 names but can you pinpoint who the names belong to? I bet not! I didn't hear you ask anyone else their names! Did this girl ask any one of you, your names?!"

The crowd began to shake their heads no when the police officer began to get wind of what Seiji meant. They unhand cuffed them and began to proceed to Lorelei. "Nice job Seiji!" whispered Kumiko. "Shh! Don't say anyone name! Dammit Ku-" said Kazu. He stopped mid-sentence.

"Wait! Wait!" yells Lorelei. She points at Seiji, "Your name is Seiji! The girl next to you is Kumiko! The guy behind you is Kazu, and the girl on his left is Fumi! See!? I know who is who! Arrest them!" said Lorelei.

Because Lorelei heard Kumiko call Seiji by his name and Kazu by his name, she knew who the first two were. No person would name their daughter Kazu, or their son Fumi so she deduced from there. The officers made their way to them and handcuffed them once more. The girls began to cry while Kazu and Seiji lowered their heads in shame. They were escorted to the police car and were ridden down to the jail house. They had the ability to call one person that they wanted to and needed to call the right person. They decided that Seiji would use their call. Seiji picked up the phone and dialed the Hiroshima residence. No one answered so he tried calling the village, no one answered the phone saying, "Hello, Sono Kazumi speaking?"

When Seiji hears Sono's voice on the other side of the line, he froze. He wrapped his hand around the lower half of the phone so Sono couldn't hear, and asked for Kazu. Kazu comes over and Seiji explains that Sono picked up the phone. Kazu stands there for a moment while Seiji listens to Sono say "Hello? Hello?" Kazu picks up the phone and begins to talk to her.

"Sono? It's Kazu...Yeah...I need you to put your father on the phone...Why not!?...C'mon!...This is really important Sono and if you do not comply...What do you mean what business do I have with your father!? He's the village chief...Sono! S-Sono?" says Kazu.

Kazu calls out to Sono, who stops responding. His friends watch as Kazu's expression changes through a range of emotions. Angry, defeated, hopeful, then defeated again. Kazu slowly walked back to the cell when his friends gaze at him with puzzled expressions. "W-What happened? Did you get to talk to the village chief," asked Kumiko.

"No, well, yeah. I talked to him and he said that we are here on our own," said Kazu.

"What!? How are we supposed to get out!? Did you tell him that we were just accused of murder!?"

"Of course I did! C'mon, give me some credit. I tried my best to reason with him."

"This is your entire fault Seiji," said Fumi.

"What? Mine," said Seiji. "How is it mine?"

"It was your idea to come out here. You're the one who that bumped into that bloody guy. If it weren't for you, we'd all be home right now, sipping tea. I hate you, Seiji Maharishi."

"Now is no time to be getting angry at each other. We need to stay together and work out our problems," said Kumiko.

"And since when did you become so 'high and mighty'? You're always complaining about something. You should be the last one talking," said Kazu.

"Stop it guys," says Seiji. "We need to figure a way out…Kumiko. Do you think you can pick this lock? Don't think that I'm expecting you to."

"Well," starts Kumiko. "I think so. Let me use my hair pick."

For about 5 minutes, Kumiko tries to unhook the lock and escape, to no avail.

"I don't think I can get it." says Kumiko.

"Try harder!" says Fumi.

Kumiko continues to try to open the lock. When she finally unhitches the lock, the group runs for the door. Seiji strategically takes the keys that were luckily placed on a nearby desk.

"No! The door won't open!" yells Fumi. "Damn it! What are we gonna do!?"

"Don't worry," says Seiji. "I've got the keys. Open the door."

Kumiko takes the keys to unlock the door, but after a while she complains that it just will not open.

"Uh oh, look guys." says Kazu.

The group turns to see a security lock on the side of the door. They need that to make the door open. Kazu and Seiji bang at the door constantly but nothing seems to happen.

Fumi begins to play with the security lock in very peculiar way. She takes Kumiko's hair pin and slides it under the lock. It falls off almost immediately and the door unlocks.

The kids dashed out of the door into the courtyard until the security lights began to flash and the sirens blared. They ran as fast as they could towards the gate, which they all quickly scaled in a matter of seconds. As they ran through a lush part of the forest, Seiji notices a cave not far behind.

"This way!" yells Seiji as he motions to the cave's outskirts.

They continue to run as they noticed flashlights after them. This event nostalgically reminded them of when they were being chased in the forest. Kazu hoped that this time, no one would fall. That was ironic to what happened next.

They reached the cave and they all got in except for Kumiko. She fell in a different way. Fumi runs up to a limp Kumiko, lying on the ground and twitching. Fumi screams when she notices the bullet lodged in Kumiko's back. The boys pulled Fumi back, afraid of their location in the cave being found.

They hear what sounds like talking mixed in with the steady drip of water on the cave walls. The temperature in the cave seemed to be constantly dropping. Hypothermia would soon set in. The kids huddled together to try to save what warmth was left in their body.

Seiji hears a voice asking him questions. 'Do you want to be saved?' 'Do you want to go home?' 'You have no home, right?' 'I could be your home, right?' 'Wish for it! I will take you home!' said the voice.

Seiji shook his head in compliance with the voice. He wondered if he was the only one who could hear it, but the cold was so bone-chilling that he could no longer process thoughts at all. He began to shudder extremely hard as he thought he was going to die.


	8. Light of Obstruction

_Light of Obstruction_

"Seiji!?" asked Fumi. "Seiji, are you awake!? Please! Please, wake up! Seiji..."

"Why would you try and kill yourself, you idiot!?" said Kazu

Seiji begins to regain consciousness. Kazu and Fumi crowded around him. Kazu poured cold water on him until he began to move more often. They brought him to his, more or less, _abandoned_ house to change his clothes. Fumi stayed behind for the obvious reason of not wanting to see Seiji naked. Secretly, she did want to see him naked, but now was not the time to make a lustful advance on her crippled friend. That's correct, crippled. A few years ago, when they ran from the jail they had been caught in, they stayed in a cave. By the time they escaped, he could no longer feel his left hand and it was amputated. It had been two years since that tragic accident. They were now juniors in high school. Things were okay though. They took care of each other, lived together with Fumi's family and are happy. The one thing that still puzzled them, well Kazu at least, was that Sono seemed content. As if all she needed was to get rid of one of them, and cripple their strongest leader.

Yes, one of them is gone, how they left is a story for another time.

"C'mon!" says Kazu. "I'm hungry over here.."

"Shut up!" says Fumi. "You'll wait until I'm done making Seiji's plate.

"Hurry..."

"Hold on! Gosh!

The two hear a knock at the door.

"Hello?" asks Kazu. "Who's there?"

"Sono...Sono Kazumi."

"What do you want? You have the nerve to show your-"

"Just...Never mind! I don't have anything to say to you anyway!"

Kazu ran to the door to watch Sono walking away in a very angry fashion. The two ate breakfast when they received a call from the hospital where their two friends were staying.

"Hello?" says Fumi. "Yes this is she...and Kumiko...what!?...How? Oh my god...Parents...dead..."

Kazu and Fumi rushed to the hospital that was just outside of the town. They ran in to the doctor who was treating Seiji.

"He's okay..." says the Doctor. "But, we had to amputate his left hand. And about your other friend...Kumiko? She is dead."

Fumi busted out in tears, leaning into Kazu's arm for comfort. The doctor explained that the gunshot wound hit her spinal cord, which would've saved her life if it had not paralyzed her from moving. She couldn't move with you guys nor receive any warmth, therefore, she died because of hypothermia.

The group went home and relaxed for a while. They had forgotten that today was the first time they had to evacuate the village in a while, considering their traveling around and jail time. They gathered supplies that they might need and headed outside. It seemed that the Kazumi's were making an announcement.

"Hello everyone!" says . "Apparently, we have to move once again, it seems. But, it's okay because with my new promotion, I will be able to fund houses outside of the town for shelter during these times."

The crowd cheered for a while, obviously grateful that they can sleep in a house during these nights instead of sleeping bags.

"Wait a second" said Fumi. "He's talking about north of the town, near Ghuy Park central."

"Yeah." says Kazu. "This is bad."

"Why" asks Seiji. "What's wrong with making things comfortable?"

"Ghuy is sacred. If you build on that land, curses were to befall you."

"We need to get him to stop." says Fumi. " ! You're building on Ghuy Park right?"

"Yes? Is that a problem, young lady?" asks .

"Yeah" replies Kazu. "It's sacred land. If you build on it, we'll all be cursed."

"Yeah right, kid! Hahaha!"

"Really! It's true! In the past, Ghuy was one of the most prosperous cities. It was said that anyone who would join the village, would receive great financial support and greatness. They would gain instant wealth. The reason why, is what puzzled people. They would sacrifice people that the Shicho deemed unfit or useless. In return for the sacrifice, increased fortune. One day, the souls reaped everyone who has ever prospered by the loss of their souls in one of the darkest ways they could. They would possess those close to the rich and make them commit suicide. Anyone who cultivated their land would bring pain and sorrow to their people."

"That's an elaborate story you thought up, little girl! However, that won't change my mind."

They evacuated the following weeks until the Kazumi's had built their homes. Reluctantly, the group stayed in those homes.

"I really don't think we should be here" says Fumi.

"Either be cursed, or get killed by a curse. One way or another, we screwed so it might as well be in comfort."

The town's people returned home and lived in comfort. It seemed like there would be no consequences. At least, that's what they thought. Kazu and Fumi blamed the curse when people began to commit suicide. One after another, village people collected bodies. The group stayed above this for a while, until this happened to them. Seiji ran outside and tried to stab himself. Of course, Kazu and Fumi hadn't discovered him until a while after his attempt.

"Seiji!?" asked Fumi. "Seiji, are you awake!? Please! Please, wake up! Seiji..."

"Why would you try and kill yourself, you idiot!?" said Kazu.

Kazu and Fumi kept a close eye on their troubled friend Seiji. His suicide attempt frightened them enough to install cameras in the home that they shared. Fumi felt cheated, being in high school and expected to act as a mother and maid. She was supposed to hang with her friends, call Kumiko, and live young. Thinking of Kumiko brought tears to the rims of her eyes. They all dissipated when she was interrupted by Kazu.

"Are you okay?" asked Kazu.

"What...?" sniffled Fumi. "I-I'm fine. Don't worry about me... I'm gonna go outside."

Kazu found her going outside especially weird considering that they were experiencing their first blizzard. It would be ridiculously foolish to even open the door slightly past a point that was considered ajar. How would she even stay outside?

Kazu slowly stalked Fumi, wondering where she was really going. He knew she was serious about going outside when she opened the knob and a gust of wind and snow blew in her face. Kazu noticed she stood still in the doorway.

"Close the door already!" yelled Kazu. His plea didn't seem to work. He slowly eased his way towards the sheer cold and tried to move Fumi, but she wouldn't move.

Her gaze seemed too fixed on something in the distance. The slight outlines of the houses were visible, but barely. You would have to squint really hardly to notice it. Fumi's eyes had been wide open, as if she could see everything lucidly. Kazu couldn't imagine what she was gazing at. The only thing that seemed remotely out of the ordinary was the slight glint he saw in what he thought was the center of the mass.

"Fumi, let's go." says Kazu.

"Shh!" she said. "Look..."

"So she speaks..." thought Kazu.

Pardon Fumi's rude shushing of Kazu, he reluctantly stared back at what seemed like a sea of white. He squinted and squinted until his eye were almost closed. Kazu stopped squinting.

"So you see it?" asks Fumi.

"Completely. How could I've missed it?" replied Kazu.

"Ha. Because you weren't looking at the 'big picture'." What a pun.

On the edges of the white ocean, the word "Hellbound' was written. There seemed to be flames at the top of the first and last letters. What shocked Kazu more was that he noticed someone running. No. She was more or less skipping away. Kazu recognized it to be Yuki. Her swift and nimble steps were so light that as quickly as she stepped was as quickly as the snow covered the tracts. It was like she floated across the snow.

"Stop!" screamed Fumi.

Fumi trudged across the snow blanket, chasing after the translucent figure, appearing and disappearing in the light. Kazu followed Fumi, completely concerned for her safety. They looked for Yuki but she appeared to have disintegrated into the reflection of the light. They headed to the general direction of the Kazumi main house. Yuki had to have headed home.

They knocked on the door, awaiting a response. Kazu pounded the door, not really concerned with Yuki, but with the cold. He only wore one sweat jacket. Fumi assumed that no one was home and spaced backwards to see through the windows.

"I don't see anyone..." says Fumi. "Maybe they're not home..."

"Where could they be? Do you think they evaded the snow storm?" says Kazu.

"It's possible."

"Seiji!" yelled Kazu. "We left him home alone!"

Fumi and Kazu dashed back to their home. They slowly began to drop their pace, making there exodus slower as time passed. They eventually came to a stop, gasping for air as if they had been laboriously working. Fumi looked around; staring at the latent outlines of the houses, the blanket of snow around what was her world, and the mystery that seemed to overflow in this small town. Kazu thought to himself; he needs to really leave this place. That plan cannot be enacted until some of this snow melted, which was completely unlikely considering the northern latitude. They hadn't experienced a catastrophic snow storm like this ever. Ever wasn't the right word. About 300 years ago, a snow storm was charted to have occurred here. This was proven by the perfectly preserved frozen head of a person. To philosophers, it was far fetched to have really happened, confusing them on the matter of the head's preservation. Mythologists believed that the Yuki-onna would kill its prey in a snow storm and display their favorite kills in their home as a frozen piece of art. The thought of this made him shudder out of fear. What scared him more was that Seiji was home alone and the likelihood of the curse repeating was at an increased chance.

Kazu and Fumi continued to trudge to their house. Because the sun began to continuously rise, the snow reflected more light, making it extremely difficult to see. The gleam from the snow on top of the houses shined so brightly that the rims of the houses could no longer be seen, making everything seem like a sea of white. Fumi tried her best to shield her eyes but her effort was diminished by the glaring light. Occasionally, she could see the shadows of shops that had awnings on the second floor. She slowly inched towards the darkness, rapidly moving her eyes to catch any more shadow. However, that move was a mistake. She began to get so far away that Kazu could no longer see her. She stalked on, straining to see whatever darkness that lied in this piercing light.

Fumi happened to walk into the pillar of a shop that lied on the corner of the town. She recognized a few letters of the sign under the shadows. The blinding light had deteriorated her vision so severely that she had to constantly move the sign out of her peripheral vision to see it. She concluded that she wasn't far from her house and that she could probably guess her way around, but it was proven in an American TV show she once watched that it is extremely unlikely that that would happen.

Fumi walks into the small shop, slightly confused. She wondered why no one had been seen outside. Did they all unanimously decide to 'shut down' Yukinomai? The whole concept was childish to think, but that still didn't quench her curiosity. Where was everyone?

Meanwhile, Kazu began to stagger along in the sunlight and snow. He almost gave up hope when he fell onto a porch. The wood was cool, but snowless because of the protective awning. The awning had been weighed down by the overbearing snow that it looked as if it could collapse at any moment. Kazu stumbled into the building he found and took long breaths of air. He whispered to himself, thanking the gods for his survival. Who knew snow could kill?" Or better yet, 'the light', for that was what really impaired him. Speaking of impairments, his eyes had to adjust to his new environment so he slid himself down the wall and closed his eyes, awaiting the arrival of his sight.

"Hello?" asked Kazu. He rose to his feet to look for a person. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

He continued to wander in this hollow house. The air slowly whispered throughout the house, creating an eerie resonance in Kazu's ears. His ears began to somewhat ring, making him cup them. The sound seemed to intensify and he crouched on the ground as if this sound was being magnified directly at him.

Fumi searched for anything that resembled sunglasses but nothing could be seen. When she saw a dark colored glass on a shelf, she took it to protect her eyes. She walks towards the door when she is interrupted by a shoddy looking man.

"What are you doing!?" screamed the man. "Get out of my shop!"

"I-I didn't mean to!" yells Fumi. "I just need the glass..."

"Give me my glass!"

The man tries to grab the glass out of Fumi's hand, but she refused to let go. They continued to rustle around the shop until they began to knock glasses off of their shelves and break.

"MY MERCHANDISE!" screams the man.

The man sat there, crying over the broken glass on the floor. Fumi stood there for a moment, feeling pity for the man, but she knew what her real goal was. She ran towards the door when she was stopped by the man's hand grasping her foot.

"Let me go!" she yelled.

"No!" said the man. "You're gonna stay with me and pay off your debt."

Fumi continued to struggle, but was silenced and stagnant when the man pulled a 9mm from his robe. He meant business and wasn't going to let Fumi leave unscathed.

Kazu writhed in pain on the ground, waiting for the sound to fade when everything went still. He heard no more buzzing sounds. He stood up and collected himself, yelling 'hello'. Even before the buzzing, he could still hear the air, but now, nothing. He slowly entered another room, crouching down as if not to be seen. He stalked his invisible prey, turning his eyes left and right constantly to find a sign of life. He went cold when he heard footsteps rushing towards him. The sound frightened him in his place, knowing that he would be killed. He looked down, and watched his blood drip from his abdomen. He cried to himself, unable to believe what just happened to him. He felt the heavy breath of his assailant on his neck and decided to turn, just so he would know who did it. He gasped at the sight.

"Ku-Kumiko?" said Kazu.


	9. Red Tide

_Red Tide_

Kumiko stared at him with distaste.

"Remember me?" said Kumiko. "Remember how cold it was in that cave?"

"No..." started Kazu. He began to hack up blood. "I didn't mean..."

"You didn't mean what? You didn't mean to leave me there? You didn't mean to forget to help _me_ get warm. NO! You're selfish. And you thought you took my life."

"That's...impossible..." said Kazu.

"Don't worry," Kumiko holds up the knife. "I'll make this quick."

Meanwhile, Fumi stared her soon to be assailant down in the face. The gun was wavering in his hand and Fumi could tell that he was old and weak. If she could get one good hit in, he would be unconscious.

"Get'em!" said the old merchant as two large men grabbed her from behind.

Fumi was hauled in the back of a truck where a large man stared at her. 'Take off your clothes' said the man. Fumi stared at him intently. She feared for her life that her virtue would be taken away from her in a grisly, disgusting way. Tears began to swell in Fumi's eyes as she began to strip. She turned away from the man and fell to her knees as the truck began to depart. The man rustled around with Fumi's clothes for awhile.

"Get it over with!" yelled Fumi.

"What?" asked the man. "I've already got your money. Here, put your clothes back on..."

The man had thrown Fumi's clothes back at her. Fumi smiled and quickly placed her clothes back on. She wiped her tears and looked back at the man.

"W-Where are we going?" asked Fumi.

"The sea, in Hokkaido." answered the man.

"That could take days to drive to!"

"Try not to die, okay?"

The truck that headed to Hokkaido moved quickly throughout the country. Meanwhile, Kumiko stared at Kazu. He bled out more of his crimson blood that fueled Kumiko's mental high.

"Kumiko..., don't you think you've gone far enough?" said a man behind her.

"No! I was always treated like I didn't matter, like my opinion didn't count. Well, I bet it counts now, doesn't it? Huh!?"

"But Kumiko..."

"No! Shut up and start filming before I kill you instead."

"Kumiko..." started Kazu. "Why are you acting like this...?"

"Stop stalling!" said Kumiko. "I'm done listening to you whine! It's time to die!"

"No!"

Kumiko's cameraman pushed her out of the way. Her knife went into a wooden stand next to a chair that a bleeding Kazu was leaning against for support. She struggled to get up as her cameraman got on top of her to search for the weapon.

"GET OFF!" yelled Kumiko as she kicked her employee in the gut. "I will kill all of you!"

At that moment, a gust of icy wind burst through the house. Eerie winds began to fill the air, instantaneously rendering the people motionless. Kumiko faltered and fell on the floor as light, haphazard footsteps came towards the door. As Kumiko got up, the steps that contained no rhythm grew louder. Then, the air again stilled as a girl with black hair that was as dark as night appeared. She hauntingly stared at girl let her head hang back, and she began to moan. A dark vortex had appeared from a gap in her neck. The Yuki-onna's mouth was wide open as putrid odors emerged from her mouth. Kazu whispered to himself, 'The Curse'.

"G-Get back..." whispered Kumiko, but it seemed as though she was losing the power she once had in her voice.

"Ku...mi...ko..." whispered the ghost.

Kumiko punched the figure in its abdomen but her fist went directly through to the other side of it. The ghost's cursed body stunned Kumiko as she was sucked into a vortex of dark shadows. The Yuki-onna left at once, slamming the doors shut and leaving the electrical wiring somewhat disoriented.

The cameraman noticed that Kazu was losing his consciousness and began to tend to his wounds. The cameraman constantly fluttered around, obviously unsure of what to really do. The day seemed to begin to fade away as the man noticed the shadows endlessly shifting over Kazu's face. Kazu had been asleep for a while and the cameraman wanted to make sure that he was going to be okay. Kazu's breathing remained unstable, constantly causing miniature anxiety attacks for the man. When Kazu did seem to be stable, the man relaxed. He looked around, wondering who's house they were in. Aside from the mystery of their whereabouts, the man began to stare at Kazu again. This man was young and inexperienced when it came to taking care of someone, however he was only 16 years old. The guy looked at Kazu sleeping peacefully and leaned in to look at him. He closed his eyes and moved his lips closer. When Kazu began to fidget in his sleep, the young man moved back out of fear and shock. He thought to himself, 'What was I about to do? Take advantage of a hurt person?' The young man backed away and sat in the chair next to him. He needed just as much time to address his own feelings as Kazu needed to heal.

Fumi laid in the back of her kidnappers truck, wondering of how she could possibly escape. Throughout her life, she had always been an analytical girl. She always has been, and she always will be. She was able to see a situation from every viewpoint and uses it to read her acquaintances' emotions. This helped her in chess competitions. She could make her opponents quiver in their seats, defeating them easily. She realized that every 4 hours, they would stop for a 30-minute break. That means she had 30 minutes to escape. The actual problem was escaping from her chains and how to unlock the back door. She thought to herself, 'This would be a good time for Kumiko's lock skills... Didn't she teach me anything ?'

Fumi looked around her surroundings. The room was virtually empty, save a jacket that belonged to the large man which at one time she thought was going to assault her. How could that help her in anyway? She decided to 'look' through the jacket. The only items were a laminated I.D card and a keys. 'Seriously?' thought Fumi. 'Is he all brawn and no brains-being stupid enough to leave keys in his jacket with the kidnapped?' There were at least 15 different keys on the chain and she had already wasted 28 minutes pondering an idea. She fumbled around with the keys, looking for the right one. Almost every key failed to open the door, at which time she wondered why there had been a lock in the _inside_. They may have purposely installed it for their operation. The mesomorph body guard would need to get out on his own. They should've assured themselves with a body guard that can think as well. Although Fumi could think of numerous ways to execute this concept, her goal was to get out before her abductors returned.

Meanwhile, the store owner waited in line of the gas station. He had forgotten that the grocery store would be brimmed with people preparing for the Sanno and Atsuta festivals. He didn't want to take so long in line in the fear that the ship they had waited for in Hokkaido would deport. He fidgeted in his spot as people began to file in. A woman with long purple hair and blazing violet eyes passed by, she had captured his eyes and meanwhile the line to the cash register was shortening. He moved further in line while Fumi harshly played with the keys. When she got to the last key, she opened the door and fell from the van, attracting the attention of a few bystanders and the large, brawny, fool that had originally captured her. He starts a slow running pace, but eventually lets loose as she runs towards the forest. 'She won't get far,' he thought. 'When she runs into the Ishikari-gawa river bank, she'll come back'.

All the while, Kazu is recovering well. The day is mostly over and vision is accessible in Yukinomai. Kazu begins to regain his consciousness.

"Who-Who are you?" asked Kazu.

"Oh! I'm Daisuke. Umm...how are you feeling...?" responded Daisuke.

"In pain...if that's specific enough. Where...what..."

"Happened?" Daisuke recalled the events to Kazu and how he believed that he saw the spirit that was haunting this village.

"So...Kumiko's dead?"

"Yeah..."

"Where is Fumi? And Seiji?"

"Who are they?"

Kazu dashed off to his house, tripping and falling in what was left of the snow.

"You shouldn't be running like this!" says Daisuke. "Here, let me take you. Just direct me where."

Daisuke lugged Kazu to the house and up the stairs to Seiji's room. He wasn't there. They checked the rather large bathroom and noticed something shocking. The water in the bathtub was tainted a shade of red. There were smears of blood on the end of the tub and when they turned around, they notice a naked Seiji, with three knives in his chest.

Meanwhile, when the store owner and his goons realize that Fumi is gone, they head to the forest that one man had said she escaped to. They looked hard and wide until one of the goons called the others over. There was a red tint over the river. A sweat jacket and hair ties flowed down the river, indicating that she had drowned. The men left quickly in fear that they will be caught. At that time, Fumi slowly emerges from the water holding a broken bottle of red spray paint.


	10. Discovery

**For My Female Viewers:**

This chapter will appeal to you greatly.

This was highly inspired by a friend that some of you may know as Mahouko-Chama

If you're a guy, feel free to skip the part that exhibits Shounen-ai-like activities.

_Discovery_

Fumi rummaged through the woods, watching for her pursuers. She was still wet from the river she had hid in and the rain that pounded above her, but survival and escape was her main priority. The greenery from the small canopy above her had shadowed everything around her. The faint glow of the lights that are on the boundary of the woods, indicated that she was on her way to civilization. She slightly brushed against leaves and trees to analyze the amount of sound they would make. If her abductors reappeared, she would know exactly how much she could move to attract attention, taking in the account of distance. The rain continuously fell, drearily dimming the dormant beauty of the forest at night.

Meanwhile, Daisuke and Kazu reported Seiji's death. How could this have happened? They shut him away from the curse for two years, thinking that the effects would wear off. Kazu lied on a sofa in their house.

"A-are you okay?" asked Daisuke. "I'm sorry about your friend."

"Yeah...me too..." replied Kazu.

"Were you two..._close_?"

"Good friends. When we were freshman, we would hunt for suspects of the curse. When his parents died, he came and lived with me."

"He lived with you? For how long?"

"Until, the 'Kumiko incident'."

"Yeah, about that..., what was her issue?"

"After we got out from jail-"

"You went to jail!?" exclaimed Daisuke.

"Yeah..."

_"Hot_..." thought Daisuke.

"Anyway, we thought she had died, but she held a grudge every since we accepted her death. Afterwards, the curse of-"

"Ghuy Park?"

"Stop interrupting me!"

"S-Sorry! Um...Kumiko told me about how it makes you suicidal. I assume that's what happened with Seiji?"

"Let's not talk about it..."

The boys sat around the house in silence. Daisuke began to hum a tune foreign to Kazu's ears. It was peculiar, most of the melody did not correspond with what was originally thought to be the melody. Although, the sound was soothing. Daisuke's tenor voice in the upper register brought an unknown calm to Kazu. It made him feel awkward, yet the sound was so allaying that he began to look at Daisuke in an odd way.

"I'm sorry, am I bothering you?" asked Daisuke.

"N-No. It's actually really good. Keep humming..."

Kazu moved in closer to listen to his voice. Daisuke could tell that he was enjoying his sound.

"How come you stopped singing?"

"I just don't think I need to do so."

Daisuke leaned in and kissed Kazu. To Daisuke, the moment was absolutely right and completely wrong all in the same instance. Kazu opened his eyes, still kissing him. He then suddenly pushed away.

"I...what are you doing?" said Kazu.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking! I-I'll leave!"

"No...you don't have to go..."

"I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be sorry. Come here..."

Kazu stands up and pulls Daisuke to the couch, kissing him again. Daisuke somewhat stutters but then submits to Kazu, returning his kiss. Kazu whispers, 'I like to be on top' to Daisuke and they switch positions.

This was a side that Kazu must've hidden. Was it really hidden, or did no one contemplate Kazu's unseen disdain for women? He never really acted in any way that would indicate his sexuality. It was more than the village members that had secrets.

Fumi made her way out of the woods, finally reaching the edge of the woods. The cars sped by her, making her hair move through the air. The distance between her and the road was almost nonexistent. Among other things, the highway she was on was virtually empty. The lights she saw must've came from the large building across the street. It's odd that the one building on this highway would be a nuclear power plant. They must've finally rebuilt it after the earthquake last year.

When the road cleared for a moment, Fumi crossed over to the peculiar building. She tried to open the double doors, but they appeared to be locked. There were vans around the west side of the building, all seeming to be vacant. She walked up to the first one and tugged on the back door. It opened; Fumi always knew she was a lucky person. She looked around, dumbfounded at the excess guns and grenades that were pinned up on a shelf within. She was surprised that she didn't see syringes until she opened a first aid box filled with them. 'What kind of operation were they running?' thought Fumi. Everything abnormal about this place except for the fact that no one was working. Maybe the place is closed on Thursdays. Thursday... Someone would die in her village if they didn't leave. It was already getting late. The time read 9:14 p.m. She wondered if Kazu would live in those cursed houses on Ghuy Park. '_Maybe I'll call him._' thought Fumi.

She looked through a window that had been on the wall. She saw a phone she could use, but how would she get in?

"Hey!" yelled a man from behind her. "I guess you didn't think to close the door as you made your escape.

The man chased after Fumi, whom he thought was a burglar. She ran to the backside of the building, trying out the door. When it opened, she quickly found a pole and lodged the door, hindering her pursuers struggle useless. The man mouthed the words, 'I got you now' when a mysterious smog began to fill the room. Fumi frantically tried to call 110 so the police could find her, but unfortunately, the phone line was dead. She ran up some stairs that she saw that leaded into a room with these enormous egg like capsules hanging in the air, suspended by black tentacles. She touched one, and a boy who looked like Seiji fell from it. 'Is this some kind of human cloning plant?' thought Fumi. Are they the ones behind the curse. Fumi ran to a desk that was in the back of the room. Most of the drawers had been locked except for one that contained checks. One of the checks contained the name of Fumi and Sono's families. _Why are there consistent annual payments to this place? 'Were Sono and my parents..., funding_ _the curse?_' thought Fumi.


	11. Peril

, , , and sat in a room that Thursday afternoon. They deliberated the performance of the bane that they plague the village constantly. They discussed the whereabouts of who they planned to hoax into the curse. Yukinomai never wanted anyone fooling around in its plans for prosper and success. The accomplishment of wealth in this town was all that the Kazumi's thought of. Greed consumed them, making human cloning an instrument to make his family known. Little did they know, that the Hiroshima's had different plans.

"Kazu and his friends have been allowed to stay here for far too long." says .

"The lab was conducting their research on KumikoFuo. The time was necessary to create conclusive results." said .

"Yes, please calm down honey," said . "I think what we need to do is pin the location of Fumi. She's been missing for the entire day."

"I'll send my nephews to find her. It shouldn't be long."

"How do you expect to find her in Hokkaido?" asks .

"Maybe we should contact someone in Hokkaido." says . "I'm sure that your family has contacts there, Am I right?" she said testing them.

Mr. and had indecipherable facial expressions. Alternatively, was endeavoring to keep a cool countenance while she inwardly laughed at the situation. It seemed as if she could analyze the circumstance's main points, allowing her patronizing attitude to slightly surface.

Daisuke and Kazu had fallen asleep on the couch. Kazu must've forgotten that his friend has disappeared and he has not heard from her since bright and early this morning. Unbeknownst to Daisuke, Kazu runs to the bathroom to wash his face and somewhat shower. He had forgotten that they were interrupted this morning by burning flames upon the snow, so all of his clothes had been in the laundry room where Fumi had left them. _Fumi_. He had completely failed to recall the fact that he was missing a person. He needed to find her, but how would he do that when today was the day of the curse? He couldn't leave Daisuke here to die, but he didn't want to face the awkwardness of the event that had taken place moments ago.

Kazu wakes Daisuke. 'Get up' he whispers.

"What's going on...?" says Daisuke, extremely lethargically. "Why are you moving so quickly...?"

"We need to leave!"

"Leave? For what?"

"No time for questions. Get..." started Kazu disdainfully. "...Dressed..."

Meanwhile, Fumi processed the new information that she gathered. She fished through more drawers, finding nothing of use until the last drawer that she opened proposed something promising to her: blue Prints. The blue prints successfully explained the mechanics of the egg-like thing, or the 'Capsule Chambers' as stated in the final analysis. They're supposed to have an outer shell that is as hard as steel, but Fumi had already proven that incorrect due to the immediate expulsion of the humanoid body that resembled Seiji's from the capsule chamber. There had to be instructions on how to use this machine. Who could be technically savvy enough to understand how to do this? Unfortunately, there was nothing else in the blue prints that looked like instructions and the drawer was empty save a few pens. Fumi had never encountered anything as mysterious as this so that she could become so frustrated with herself. She pounded her fist down into the drawer when the bottom fell. That's when she realized there was a false bottom. Inside held a manila folder labeled 'targets'. That alone was daunting enough to cause Fumi to involuntarily gulp. She opened the inside and saw files that listed details of the people they had gotten and had planned to obtain. The data held was so precise that it seemed as if they knew more about you than you did. On the people they had already...'obtained', there was a red stamp that read 'gathered'. They were poaching people like they were animals.

Fumi looked at the next section for their future victims. She saw the names of a few of her classmates. Ironically..., Sono's name was on here. This must've been done without her knowledge. Fumi was very articulate and could lucidly see what the Kazumi's were planning. The Kazumi's would gladly sacrifice their daughters for more fame. If they were working with the Hiroshima's like she thought, then they would probably frame her family for the curse. That's why the Kazumi's were extremely adamant about my safe being during the last curse. Keeping me alive, and killing their daughter would make their partners in crime seem the most suspicious, so that all they would need to do is frame her family. How would they make the Hiroshima's guilty? Fumi's train of thought was interrupted by impending footsteps coming from the stairwell. She quickly dashed from the desk, accidentally tumbling the file onto the ground, expelling the papers from within.

"Who's there?" called a very timid voice from the stairs. "The backdoor is locked so you won't be escaping..."

"Umm..." said Fumi, even more timidly. "I-I was just..."

"You were just snooping through those files." said a woman's voice, much more confident than before. The woman scaled the last few steps, making her chocolate brown hair noticeable under the scattered lights of the capsule chambers. The blue liquid within the chambers made the lights seem aquatic. The woman walked slowly towards Fumi's identified hiding place. The perfect alignment of the capsules formed a sort of catwalk that the beautiful girl walked down.

"What's your name?" said the woman as she made her way to the fallen files.

"You don't sound Japanese..." said Fumi.

"That's because I'm not."

"What's _your_ name?"

"Tabitha Fair. How about yours?"

Fumi had to think quickly on her feet.

"Yuki Kazumi." She lied.

"Oh! Then why are you hiding? I always wanted to see the girl that the Kazumi's used to hoax their captures."

Fumi emerged from the place that she hid and showed her face. Fumi smiled in her mind when the woman looked at her expectantly, obviously taking in her looks. She must not have known Yuki's true appearance. They cleaned up the files and sat at the desk. Although Fumi's true identity was concealed, her heart still rushed because she was sitting next to a person who was a murderer, or better said, an _accomplice_ in multiple murders. What confused Fumi was, how did they clone people? Fumi stared at the capsule chambers just as Tabitha stared at her.

"Do you want to know how this thing works? I get the feeling that your family concealed this from you too." Tabitha places down a paper, similar to the papers that held the information of their victims, on the desk. Fumi assumed that it had another victim on it, but she was too afraid to ask who it was on there.

Kazu and Daisuke scrambled around the house, looking for anything they could use as supplies. They would be traveling for a long time if they were going to find Fumi. That entire plan was still far from able to be in effect because they hadn't had the simplest idea of where she could be. She disappeared during that white morning they had recently. They needed information and didn't have the slightest clue were to get hold of it.

"Kazu..." started Daisuke. "Do you think that there is anywhere she might've voluntarily gone?"

"No. Not without consulting me at least. She would never leave Seiji like that...Seiji..."

Daisuke was inwardly remorseful for unknowingly bringing up an uncomfortable subject. Although he was sorry, he was also envious of Seiji due to the fact that he holds such a value on Kazu's heart. Was he Kazu's previous lover? Daisuke couldn't preoccupy his thoughts with something he could not change. He needed to focus on being a friend to Kazu first, aside from their sensual experience of the preceding night. Maybe being friends would hold himself closer to Kazu's heart. Again, Daisuke is side-tracked by his own inter-personal thoughts and as a tactic to distract himself from himself, he began to pitch more ideas and pry more into the morning of extreme brightness.

"So, explain to me exactly what happened that daybreak." said Daisuke.

"We were already awake and while in the middle of our folding the laundry..." said Kazu. He winces for a moment and continues. "We looked out the window and saw someone...dancing...or running at the end of the forest. I'm not very sure..."

Daisuke was still preoccupied by the fact that both Fumi and Seiji had lived with him. Kazu continued his story all they way up until the point at which he woke up in Daisuke's arms. There was no need to go further, especially after the erotic evening they shared.

"Did you ask any of your neighbors if they had seen anything?"

"No. That should've been my first thought! Let's go!"

Daisuke and Kazu headed outside to a neighbor's house. Over and over, their neighbors knew nothing of Fumi's whereabouts. Daisuke had asked if there were anyone else Kazu could think of, but Kazu hadn't had the slightest clue. They walked for a while until they would've exited the town, when Daisuke had a thought.

"Did we ever find the person who owned the house we were in?" asked Daisuke.

"What?" replied Kazu. His confusion was more than evident.

"You know... When Kumiko and I found you? We should check there, don't you think?"

"Maybe..."

The boys dashed over to the house where the incident with Kumiko's reappearance occurred. Again, it was eerily empty with no one to be found. They checked the upstairs quarters but to no avail. They began to head down the staircase when Kazu shushed Daisuke to a halt.

"Shh... Listen."

Kazu peered his head down and into the living room to notice Mr. Kazumi and in the room. Why weren't they with the evacuated village? Do they know something about the person who supposedly lived here? Maybe they knew of the recurrence of Kumiko and wanted information. Either way, it was imperative for their location to be concealed.

"What's going on?" asked Daisuke, very puzzled.

"Shh... You must be quiet. If we get caught..." Daisuke leaned in closer as Kazu spoke these words. "Well..., I don't know but I get the feeling that we're not supposed to be here."

"C'mon! Don't leave me in the dark." Daisuke nudged closer when his camera fell from the top of the steps. To Kazu, time moved slowly as both of the older men's' heads turned towards him. He pulled Daisuke and dashed up the stairs, rushing and trying to open doors. They burst into the master bedroom and dispersed . Daisuke hides in the closet while Kazu hides under the bed. Daisuke winces when the men call out: 'Come out, Come out wherever you are'.

Meanwhile, Fumi and Tabitha talked for a while about the capsule chambers.

"So..., you can really clone people?" asks Fumi.

"Yes." replies the woman.

"But...you can't clone its personality. Its experiences. How do you plan to copy someone's memories?"

"Well. First, we were going to let it age to the approximate age of the body it stole, but like you said, that would not mimic the experiences. So we preserved the Hippocampus within the brain that stores memories and experiences. If the new body has those memories, all up until the death of it's host, then it should probably acquire the personality traits of the brain. The only problem we're having is keeping the brain alive for long enough, which is virtually impossible. After death, it takes approximately two minutes for your heart to stop pumping blood to your brain. It takes us a few days for the biological data that we collect to develop into a newborn baby. It takes additional time for that baby to age, depending on when we wanted it to stop aging to become the age of the actual person."

"Wow... So what do you plan to do?"

"Not sure..." Fumi's stomach begins to rumble."

"Are you hungry?" says Tabitha. Something about eating food from a cloning lab made her unsure, but her stomach continuously rumbled.

"Yes..." Fumi replied reluctantly. Tabitha uses a key to unlock a door behind them. She calls back to Fumi.

"How about some _pie_?" Tabitha said. To Fumi, she said that too harshly. _Did she mean something by that?_ Fumi moves over and picks up the paper that contained their next victims information. Fumi freezes when she sees her picture.

"How about some _pie_!?" says Tabitha with an obviously annoyed tone. Fumi slowly turns around and sees Tabitha with a cherry red handgun that she just recently cocked.

"What? You don't like cherry pie?"


	12. The Blessing

Fumi slowly took a step back. Tabitha waved the gun around multiple times, causing Fumi to crouch down each time. Fumi bumped into one of the egg capsules. It didn't burst as the one that held Seiji did, but it just swung in the air.

"Don't Touch that!" Yells Tabitha. "You've already made a big enough mess" She motions towards Seiji's capsule. That made Fumi think. _Well, some of the capsules burst and others didn't. Is it maybe because of the life cycle of the capsule? Until the clone matures until adulthood, maybe the capsule will be weaker. _She looked at the capsule she bumped into. It held an adult she didn't recognize. Tabitha shot a bullet.

"Stop analyzing things. You're not going to live long enough to use any of this information." In fact, Fumi had already figured out how she'd use it. She ran towards another smaller capsule. "Stop running! The door is locked. You'll never escape." Tabitha shot next to the capsule. "Don't make me hurt my merchandise." She said in a sing-song voice.

"No. The merchandise is gonna hurt you!" Fumi's voice rose as it approached the end of the sentence. She pushed the capsule and it burst on contact with Tabitha. She bolted for the door that was locked and pushed on it hard. It needed a key or a finger print.

Tabitha scrambled to get off of the floor. The liquids made her slip. "Don't Run from me!" She screamed. When she finally found her equilibrium, she began to shoot at the top of the staircase where Fumi resided. "Damn it!" She said quietly. "I'm out of bullets." She was exasperated as she headed back to her desk for bullets. "This gun is ridiculous. I can't even get rid of the stupid shells!" She ran to her desk and pulled out her .45 magnum revolver. "This'll do the trick."

Fumi breaks out into a sprint towards the desk and purposely slipped on the capsule liquid so she could slide in between Tabitha's legs. She pushed Tabitha to the ground and pushed her gun away.

"You're such a pain!" Tabitha, again, tries to scramble to her feet. If she removed her high heels the task wouldn't be as daunting. Tabitha grunts. "Stay away from that drawer!" Fumi opens the door and finds a set of keys. She takes it and begins to slide on the liquid when Tabitha stops her in her tracks.

"Ahh! Let go!" Fumi screamed. Tabitha had gotten a hold of her hair. "Let me go!"

"Don't worry! You're not gonna miss this short hair when it's all gone." Tabitha wrenched at her hair once more, pushing her to the ground. It didn't matter because Fumi had attained the set of keys. She crawled towards the door again, leaving Tabitha to get to her feet. Fumi's hair began to stick to her neck because of the liquid that had oozed from the capsules had stuck there. She made her way to the stairs and tried the keys as fast as she could. She tried to keep track of them, but she accidently used a few of them twice. This situation brought a scent of nostalgia to the forefront of her senses. She remembered when she was trapped in a jail cell for a while with her friends. _Friends. _She needed to get out of here for Kazu. She wanted to inform him of all that was going on here. She turned around once more to see if Tabitha had caught up. She hadn't. She noticed that one of the capsules were entitled 'Kumiko.' She wanted to save her friend, but she didn't know what would happen if she made one of the capsules burst. She reluctantly pushed open the now unlocked door and ran for the exit. She looked back once more and noticed Tabitha staring back in a window. _Why wasn't she chasing me?_ She thought. It didn't matter. _Get out of here, now! _Her subconscious screamed at her.

Fumi made her way to a local supermarket. She had already forgotten that she was in a completely different part of the country. She waited in line for the payphone. People stared at her and she glared back. _What are they looking at?_ She thought. _You're sticky clothes, obviously._ Her subconscious chided her. She looked down at herself and frowned. _Where am I going to get some new clothes? _It was her turn to use the "all-to-rusted" payphone. She pulled out her wallet and noticed it was extremely soggy. To make matters worse, she only had cash, no coins. _Who's gonna want to exchange money for change with a sticky girl?_ Her subconscious said. There was a long line of people waiting to use the phone. She didn't want to go to the cashier and lose her spot so she asked a person behind her.

"Hi. Do you mind trading me 2 500 yen coins for a 1000 yen bank note?"

"Sure..." The man behind her responded. He was obviously concerned with they way she was dressed. "A-Are you okay, miss?"

"Oh!" Fumi looked down at herself. "I got into an accident. I'll be okay though." She hands him a soggy bank note.

"You know what? Keep it." The man said. "I'll give you the coins anyway."

"Th-Thanks..."

Kazu and Daisuke stayed in their hiding places. Daisuke looks at Kazu expectantly, as if asking him what they should do. Daisuke continued to raise his eyebrows out of panic. _Oh god._ Thought Kazu. _This guy better not get me found out. The same guy that you made out with. _His subconscious corrected him. He mouthed to Daisuke, 'Don't move'. Daisuke shook his head in understanding, but his nervousness was evident on his face.

"Maybe they're not here." Mr. Hiroshima suggested.

"Yeah, you're probably right." replied. Kazu silently rolled his eyes because they're stupid enough to not check the two most obvious places. He was still happy that they were not on their trail. Daisuke began to move to open the closet but Kazu motioned for him not to. There was no telling if they were gone from the second level.

"Why?" Daisuke mouthed.

"Because they might still be here." Kazu replied. He didn't want to mouth anything profound in the fear that Daisuke wouldn't understand.

"They just left."

"They haven't left the house." Kazu let some sound escape his lips. "Listen for the door, okay?" Daisuke shook his head in understanding.

Kazu placed his head as close as he could to the ground and listened hard. He closed his eyes in the hope that losing one sense would enhance another. He couldn't tell if it was working, but he could definitely hear pretty well. He could hear the air conditioner shutting on and he could here the miniscule drops of the sink in the bathroom. He could also hear the crunches of the ground as Mr. Kazumi and Mr. Hiroshima stalked the second floor, looking for their prey. Kazu shot open his eyes when he heard Daisuke fidget once more in the closet. "Don't move!" Kazu mouthed furiously. Daisuke returned Kazu's glare with an exasperated and pained expression. He closed his eyes once again. They stayed close for only a moment because when he opened them, he heard the door open and close. He mouthed to Daisuke, "It's safe!" Daisuke fell out of the closet and complained that he had a Charlie horse. Kazu still shushed him, but Daisuke didn't care because he was finding relief in his now outstretched leg.

"So, can we leave?" Daisuke asked.

"I guess. When we leave, we need to beware of Mr. Kazumi and Mr. Hiroshima turning around and catching us." Kazu replied.

Kazu and Daisuke left the house and waited on the front porch. They scanned their surroundings while keeping an eye out for any of the adults. It was snowing lightly and they were swiftly gliding through the ground. It was sticky and wet and Daisuke thought that he's fall over and bust his head. They ran to the local grocery store. Kazu noted the 'closed' sign on the window. _Woulsn't this be a perfect time to have Kumiko...? _Kazu thought. He turned in astonishment as Daisuke began picking the lock. He blinked a few times and then smiled as the front doors pried open. They were electronic so Daisuke and Kazu had to push on the doors to fully open them. They ran in and unzipped their back packs and duffle bags. They stuffed in bread and other non-perishable foods. Daisuke use his locking skills and robbed the cash registers. Kazu made room in his second duffle bag, and added bottles of water and crystal light.

"Daisuke," Kazu called! "Use your second duffle bag for water and crystal light.

"Can we travel with that much?"

"As long as we take reasonable breaks, we should be fine."

Daisuke willingly completed his task and ran to meet Kazu at the front. _Do we really need all of this? _Daisuke thought. _Yes we do. Plus, these bags are small. We packed just enough to last us a week away from actual home. _Kazu and Daisuke looked at the front door of the Grocer in horror. and stood there, glaring at them. They ran, pushing over stray carts and jumping over food islands that were place in the middle of a walkway. Kazu motioned over to Daisuke to help him break the lock on a freezer door. They had sufficient time, considering that the adults that were chasing them were passed middle aged. They forced open the door when they ran to the back of the freezer. The door that lead to the back parking lot was locked. They banged it hard but all was futile when Mr. Hiroshima and Mr. Kazumi cocked their guns. They were going to be shot.

"Thank you for giving me a ride!" Fumi said.

"No Problem," The truck driver replied. "Anything for a pretty girl, right?" That comment made Fumi chuckle.

Fumi was thankful to this truck driver. He had purchased clean clothes for her to wear and offered to take her to an airport so she can make it back to driving distance of Yukinomai. The rest of the trip to the airport was filled with awkward silence, the dreary pitter patter of rain on the roof of the truck, and the consistent burn of rubber tires on the road. Fumi looked out to the hills on the highway and noticed a few rice fields in the distance being munched on by sheep. She then realized how stupid her abductors really were because the rare amount of sheep in japan live in Sapporo-Shi. She hadn't actually made it that far north. _How could I not have noticed? My senses must be slipping..._ The truck driver grunted when her heard Fumi's audible sigh.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" He said. His eyes moved around suspiciously and then returned to the road.

"Yes. Quite fine..." Fumi tried to let her suspicions about this man be unknown. He didn't seem shady, but she shouldn't have gotten in the truck with him. She inched closer to the door and placed her hand over the door handle. It was chrome that reflected as well as a mirror. She could see the driver periodically glance in her direction, trying his best to be discreet and not be seen. He glanced at his own door to make sure that both doors were locked. She felt the coolness on the handle and it made her more uncomfortable than the atmosphere already was. Her mind drifted off to the fact that she didn't know she was in Sapporo the entire time. _if I didn't enter the Ishikari river, I must've entered Toyohira. That one's a tributary to the Ishikari. At least I was still on the Ishikari Plain. At least the boneheads had the general idea... _She thought.

The rain began to come down just a little bit harder which made Fumi nervous because the driver may want to stop somewhere until the rain subsides. He doesn't seem quite concerned, but she doesn't know his true motives. She decided to focus on her location; Being attentive to her whereabouts would be important in the case that this man wasn't taking her to the airport. Airports were now stuck on her mind. _I take the new Chitose Terminal...I wonder how much a first class ticket would cost...? _She reprimanded herself again for being side-tracked by her thoughts. She looked out of her dew covered window and set her eyes in the distance. They were not focused on anything specific, but she thought that she could daydream and keep track of her location simultaneously.

Gray mist and light fog hung low on the earth. Not much could be seen in the haze and the driver had to put o his high beams. Fumi had a hard time keeping track of the rode signs that passed by. As the truck came closer to each sign, Fumi could only catch a glimpse of each sign, few letters actually sticking out to her. She also began to notice that the truck was moving faster than usual because she could no longer keep up with the signs. She noticed on the opposite side of the rose, cars moving by with their high beams on.

"Umm..." Fumi started. "Do you think that we'll make it to the airport anytime soon?"

"I think so..." said the driver. "Although, we may have to stop for gas soon..." _Damn..._Fumi thought. She hoped that she'd make it to the airport without having to be stopped by the fool she allowed to driver her.

"It's time for you stupid kids to die," said as he stared Kazu and Daisuke down, his barrel level with Daisuke's eye. _This is one of those moments where you pray that the person you're with is a hero and jumps in front of the bullet... _Daisuke thinks. _What are we gonna do? _

pulled the trigger in excitement, the idea of the explosion brought to move back as he did it. Fortunately, there was no bullet that fired off. He looked down at his gun in astonishment. pulled his trigger as Kazu ducked to the left. He pushed a tall, metal cart of pastries over on , meanwhile Daisuke stood in the corner, his eyes darting across the small kitchen. stepped over the cart and went after Kazu, who was on the other side of the room pulling at the door that led to the supermarket. Daisuke noticed beginning to come to, so he picked up a skillet and banged it on his head. His technique was quite awkward, hitting with the flat side while he was laying down wasn't the most traditional way. Kazu lifted up a fire extinguisher and slammed against . Neither of the boys' technique were customary. Both grown men seemed to be unconscious. Daisuke risked a glance at Kazu, his heart rising as their eyes meet. They ran towards the front of the building and skipped over stray grocery carts. Kazu hadn't realized he left the duffle bag that contained water.

"We're close to the airport..." The truck driver said.

"Really?!" Fumi exclaimed all too loudly. "O-Oh...that's great."

"You sound a little discouraged..." It was quite the opposite.

"Not at all..." Fumi again tried to mask her relief.

"Oh! I haven't even offered you a drink!" The man says as he pulls out a water bottle that was definitely opened before. Fumi looks past the fog and can see the outside of the terminal, people filing in and out like clockwork. It was quite long, but she finally made it to the airport. Although, the driver seemed like he had no intention of slowing down so he can make the right. "Water?" He said a little more forcefully.

"No...thank you." She definitely gave herself away by stalling the second half of her sentence. She peeked through her newfound bangs and noticed the man's fist clenched around the sturring wheel. Now she was plotting the possibility that she'd have to jump from the car. _How will I ensure I land on something safe? _She thought. _What if I don't make it to the terminal, if I stop in the middle of the road and get ran over. I don't want to be Fumi Hiroshima Road Kill. _


End file.
